In Memoriam: Dr. Hunter S. Thompson, 1937-2005

[BloodyWilliam]

This is a memorial editorial about the late Dr. Thompson, and will hopefully be published in the next issue of Blueprint, Syracuse University's political magazine (of which I am an editor). Still, I thought I'd share this with people who would more immediately appreciate it. Goodbye, Dr. Gonzo.

In Memoriam: Dr. Hunter S. Thompson, 1937-2005

On February 20, Dr. Hunter S. Thompson shot himself. For others it would be an ignoble death, but for Thompson it’s somewhat appropriate. He lived and died on his own terms, and in the end he confronted his personal demons and, like a kamikaze pilot, took them out with him in a loud, angry blast..

Dr. Thompson might not have been a nice man. He might not have even been a good man. But he was a great man, and a brilliant bastard whose machete-sharp honesty and gun barrel-hot wit will truly be missed by anyone who appreciates the art and science of journalism.

Dr. Thompson was known to have said, “When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro.” Well, he was the weirdest and most professional journalist the world had ever seen.

In ’65 he rode with the Hell’s Angels. In ’72 he covered Nixon’s election and 22 years later danced on his grave. He shot almost every kind of drug and gun produced on the planet Earth, and spent his career fanatically writing about the death of the American Dream. Even when he settled down to write columns for ESPN.com’s “Page 2,” Dr. Thompson’s writings were sharper and more insightful than any other columnist.

As a journalist, Dr. Thompson was never a passive, impartial observer. He lived, breathed, and shat whatever he covered. He was the embodiment of gonzo journalism, a science and art form woefully forgotten by the national media. His writings may not have been the most polite or even the most sane, but they were always real, and they always laid out the subject, raw and primal, in a way modern “journalism” never can.

Anyone who hasn’t yet experienced the genius of Hunter S. Thompson should immediately go to the nearest bookstore and pick up any of his books. “Hell’s Angels” still sets the gold standard of gonzo journalism, and his latest book, “Kingdom of Fear,” is a bitter, brilliant, and truthful condemnation of the state of affairs in America.

HST fanatics, especially the illiterate ones, should also look for “Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas” and “Where the Buffalo Roam,” with Johnny Depp and Bill Murray each portraying Dr. Thompson, respectively.

Dr. Thompson, in a world full of whimpering, quivering pseudo-journalists spouting mealy-mouthed, non-confrontational pablum, you will be missed. You were one of the last of a breed of journalist-heroes with the intelligence, the soul, and the insanity to tell the world exactly what it was.

So long and Mahalo, Hunter. And good luck.

[Goblinmonger]

1. Amen

Thompson was, without a doubt, my favorite non-fiction writer. Maybe it is the proximity to my father's death, but his has hit me much harder than any other celebrity's death to date. O8)